alisonruss

Very sad news. I worked briefly at Glyndebourne when Sir Andrew was Music Director there, although he was very busy as he was also chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the time. I can concur with the comments made elsewhere that, as a person, he was approachable, down-to-earth, affable and had a great sense of humour. I have a wonderful memory of the end of the dress rehearsal of the production of 'Pelleas et Melisande', conducted by Sir Andrew, where the music died away to absolute silence for several seconds: so spellbound were we the audience by the music and the music making, that one wanted to 'hold' the magic of the moment. For me, the ultimate accolade for a performing artist. RIP

Congratulations to Isabel Coracy on winning the Olivier award for outstanding achievement in dance this year for her portrayal of Nina Simone in NINA: By Whatever Means. I saw the company in this programme at the Quays Theatre last November and thought she was tremendous in the role. Enjoyed the programme very much, and look forward to seeing the company's new one when it comes north in the autumn.

Just catching up... for the record, the Scottish Ballet Principal is called Marge Hendrick. Saw her as Blanche in 'Streetcar Named Desire' last year, and imagine that she will be reprising the role when the production goes to Sadler's Wells in May this year.

Sunday 31 December BBC2 18:55 - 20:25 Free Your Mind: The Matrix Now According to the BBC programme information ...' Specially created to celebrate the opening of Aviva Studios, the new home of Factory International in Manchester, Free Your Mind is a journey into the classic sci-fi film through dance and immersive design, presented throughout the building’s spaces.' I watched the imagine... documentary about the The Factory: Made in Manchester on BBC1 last week and, from the snippets shown. although the show is under the overall direction of Danny Boyle, the dance element seemed to be quite dominant. The choreography is by Kenrick Sandy and the score by Michael "Mikey J" Assante.

The company is making its annual visit to the Theatre Royal, Newcastle with this production in early February. Performances scheduled for 7 - 10 February 2024. Their visit to Sadler's Wells in May 2024 is with Streetcar Named Desire, revived earlier this year.

At the ATG theatres in Manchester, I have noticed that when someone orders drinks/snacks to be delivered to their seat, it is brought to them by an usher in a brown paper bag. Would this be what you saw, Tango Dancer? I agree with you regarding the number and type of drinks brought into the auditorium, although I believe it may also be partly to do with the fact that some people have barely bought their interval drinks when they have to go back into the auditorium. Oddly, I thought that the audience behaviour at the ENB performances in Manchester this week was much better than at the performance of their Swan Lake in Manchester in autumn 2022. (After that performance, I curtailed my theatre going for several months). Since the dreadful episode of ‘The Bodyguard’ performance at the Palace Theatre about a month later, where the police were called and the performance stopped, steps do seem to have been taken to make sure that the pre-performance announcements are a lot louder and clearer. I have also seen ushers take firm action on people who are taking photos during a performance. In the areas where I sat this week, the audience was much quieter throughout the performance, and the coughing was generally stifled more quickly. I used not to be very good a completing post-performance surveys, but now I complete them assiduously, working on the principle that, as a previously fairly regular theatre goer, I should take the opportunity to voice why I now go to the theatre less frequently. There are now a few more completed surveys for this week, complaining about the sale of snacks with rustly and crackly wrapping, or that involve noisy eating, because it is not only distracting for other audience members, but disrespectful to the cast and musicians. Ditto that the pre-performance email and the request that the professionals on stage are the only ones ‘entertaining with their performance’ is only seen by a minority of the audience, and therefore should be reiterated as part of the pre-performance announcement.

I attended two performances of the run at Manchester this week, on Thursday 19th and Saturday 21st, both in the evening. As I previously saw the production in 2016 with the first two casts (Cojocaru/Hernandez and Rojo/Streeter), I knew what to expect in the way of choreography, set and lighting design etc. I was interested to see if certain parts of the story seemed any clearer, without resorting to the synopsis. I still think that some parts are still too ‘subtle’, leaving the audience perplexed. Overhearing a few conversations in the intervals, it seemed a number of audience members felt strong emotions, although they were not always clear about what exactly was unfolding before them. The performance on 21st evening was led by Fernanda Oliveira and Aitor Arrieta, with Victor Prigent as Hilarion and Isabelle Brouwers as Myrtha. For me personally, this was the cast where I was most strongly aware of their balletic training in preparation for certain turns and jumps, and sometimes being more ‘centred’ whereas other casts I’ve seen previously seemed to take more risks with off-centre balances etc. The exception was Isabelle Brouwers, who was the ruthless, wild, scary, avenging character I remembered and whose interpretation easily reached to the back of the Circle. The first night in Manchester was headed by Erina Takahashi and James Streeter, with Ken Saruhashi as Hilarion and Emma Hawes making her debut as Myrtha. I found Hawes to be a less dominant Myrtha, but I’m sure her interpretation will deepen with more performances. I believe Takahashi, Streeter and Saruhashi have been involved in Akram Khan’s creations for ENB and, for me, it shows in the depth and intensity of their interpretations. Saruhashi brought sharp precision and characterisation to the role of Hilarion. In the first act, Takahashi’s Giselle’s despair at Albrecht’s betrayal was powerful and almost painful to watch. Her stillness (and exceptional balance on pointe) at certain moments in the second act drew one’s eyes repeatedly back to her. Although he does not bring some of the technical fireworks of other interpreters, Streeter’s interpretation of Albrecht remains the definitive one for me. The final duet for Giselle/Albrecht as danced by them was extremely moving; one could feel the stillness and intensity of the audience’s attention as they followed it to its conclusion. In both performances, the ensemble was fantastic, dancing with absolute commitment and passion. Fabian Remair (19th) and Junor Souza (21st) as the Landlord dominated their scenes. It was obvious that, for many of the audience, it was a highlight of the performance to hear the wonderful ENB Philharmonic under the baton of Gavin Sutherland. There were sustained ovations for the whole cast, and additional roars when the orchestra was acknowledged. If, like me, you don’t wish to buy a programme, there is the possibility of using a QR code to get the full cast list of that particular performance. And, if like me, you have some difficulty with this or wish to download it separately, go to ballet.org.uk/watch-read/ and scroll down to the Archive for Daily Performance Casting of Akram Khan’s Giselle.

Sorry to derail this thread but, as an ‘Old Elm’, I refute Emerald’s assertion that ‘Elmhurst and Arts Ed previously focused mainly on musical theatre/tap/jazz more than classical ballet’, certainly in the case of Elmhurst. For most of its existence, Elmhurst has been formally known as Elmhurst Ballet School: the daily ballet class was/is at the core of its vocational curriculum. Other dance disciplines were added to the curriculum, but they were not the main focus. (And we didn’t have tap classes when I was there, in the sixties/seventies). One of my classmates was assessed out of Royal Ballet School, White Lodge. Due to her talent and determination and the vocational teaching at Elmhurst, she was successful in obtaining a place at the Royal Ballet School, Upper School. She was not the only student that year who went from Elmhurst to RBS, Upper School, and there were others who made the same transition while I was there. As far as I’m aware, Arts Ed/Tring Park has for a very long time had two strands; Dance, with ballet at its core, and the Performing Arts. It should also not be forgotten that, decades ago, in the absence of ‘national’ vocational schools, the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal Ballet School were the only vocational schools for which one could receive direct government funding, as opposed to the lottery of local government grants. Another reason why the Royal Ballet School was the only option for some families.

I notice from the cast sheet that Jonathan Lo conducted the performance last night (and for the rest of the run I believe). Subtle differences in tempi all add up, and this may well have contributed to the overall evening being shorter.

I was in Scotland last week, visiting family, and we attended the first performance of the sold out Glasgow run of ‘Streetcar’, starting on its Scottish spring tour, the first part of which ends in Edinburgh in early May. Blanche was marvellously performed by Marge Hendrick: Bethany Kingsley-Garner threw herself, sometimes literally, into the role of Stella, and Ryoichi Hirano depicted well the explosive brutality of Stanley. Jerome Barnes as Mitch danced a wonderful solo, which is one of the few lighter moments in the piece. The whole cast carried the audience with them through the scenes and one could palpably feel the tension in the theatre rise as each of the two acts neared their conclusion. (The banner for the production in 'What's On' on the company's website now has clips of this cast). The story is generally told in a linear and almost cinematic fashion, moving without pause from one scene to the next. I liked the sparseness of the set design and loved the lighting design. (I was informed by someone in the know, that it is a lot more complex than the hanging bare lightbulbs would suggest.) The music, by Peter Salem who also wrote the score for ‘The Crucible’, is also rather cinematic, with nods to various American mid-century music styles, and was strongly performed by a comparatively small orchestra, under the baton of Robert Baxter. As to the staging, what I found particularly effective was the way that some comparatively small movements were so telling, such as the fluttering hands in the light of a single lightbulb, so reminiscent of moths attracted to a light. I loved it! But I believe it has already been twice to Sadlers Wells, so I rather doubt the ballet will go south of the border again, for financial reasons. Even with the sponsorship they are receiving for the dates, taking the production to Kirkwall and Stornoway in June will be a massive financial undertaking for the company, as they will have to construct stages for the performances. And they have their three-city American tour with ‘The Crucible’ in between the May and June dates. A couple of amendments if I may… Roseanna Leney was made principal in December 2022, when she was dancing the major roles of the Snow Queen and Gerda in the ballet ‘The Snow Queen’. I saw her perform Countess Larisch in last year’s ‘Scandal at Mayerling’, and she has also danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in Peter Darrell’s version of ‘The Nutcracker’. For the past few years, except when Covid scuppered the schedule, Scottish Ballet have visited the Theatre Royal, Newcastle at the end of their Christmas production tour, generally in early February. Dates for the Christmas tour for 23/24 are on their website. Which is south of the border, although not as far south as some would like. It is interesting to note that Scottish Ballet are performing three consecutive productions by female choreographers this year: Coppelia/Jess and Morgs; A Streetcar Named Desire/Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Nancy Meckler; The Crucible/Helen Pickett. Is this a first for a British ballet company?

Unfortunately I can’t attend the Zoom meeting, but someone else might like to ask Constance Devernay-Laurence what it was like to alternate the roles of Princess Stephanie and Marie Vetsara for five performances in four days of the production ‘The Scandal at Mayerling’ in Glasgow last April.

I saw this production in Glasgow in September 2019 and found it most moving and impressive. The performance was well attended at the Theatre Royal, appearing to have attracted a wide range of ages, who were drawn by the subject matter as much as wishing to see a dance performance. Choreography by Helen Pickett and score by Peter Salem were nominated for the NDA awards that year, as was the performance of Nicholas Shoesmith as John Proctor. I found that the set design and lighting design by David Flynn also added greatly to the increasingly oppressive atmosphere in the piece. I see that Scottish Ballet are scheduled to take this production to Nashville and Washington DC in the States in 2023, postponed from 2020. In the next couple of years, the choreographer Helen Pickett has commissions for the National Ballet of Canada, Western Australian Ballet, Boston Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet. I have seen comments about the desire to see various dance companies visit the UK. I also note however, comments that attendance at London performances by ‘outside’ companies has also frequently been poor in the last few years, which does not auger well for potential return visits from them, and may well put off other companies from contemplating a visit to the capital. The visit by San Francisco Ballet to Sadler’s Wells in May 2019, which resulted in a NDA award for the company, and the award for classical choreography for Alexei Ratmansky’s Shostakovich Trilogy in the same year as The Crucible was nominated, was just such a case. I imagine it will be a very long time, if at all, before the company appears again in the UK.

I got rather emotional watching Scottish Ballet's 'Catalyst' at the end of the Edinburgh International Festival programme, with what seems to be the whole company. Goodness knows what it was like for the dancers themselves to come and dance together again in a theatre for the first time in months. Have any other companies had this opportunity? … and off topic, I like the new look to the forum!

Checking the Palace Theatre, Manchester website, I noted the following ticket prices for the Giselle previews and for the performances. ENB Giselle – Palace Theatre Manchester ticket prices by price band. Premium Preview: £39.15 Performance: £44.15 matinee/£49.15 evening Band A Preview: £27.15-£32.15 Performance: £32.15-£37.15/£37.15-£42.15 Band B Preview: £21.15-£26.15 Performance: £27.15-£32.15/£31.15-£36.15 Band C Preview: £13.15-19.15 Performance: £23.15-£32.15/£24.15-£29.15 Band D Preview: £13.90 Performance: £24.15 matinee/£24.15 evening Band E Preview: £13.90 Performance: £13.90 matinee/£13.90 evening Plus up to £4 booking fee. Currently seats in Stalls only for the preview dates. Except for Band E, the discount is £5 or more for the preview dates.

Although I had mixed feelings about the ceremony itself, I was very pleased to see dancers from Scottish Ballet featured within it. One reviewer commented that their appearance lacked 'oomph', but I thought it was deliberately produced to provide one of the quieter moments during the event. Although perhaps the lighting in the stadium could have been lowered a little more to emphasize this. There are a couple of photos of the performance on the Classic FM website. And, straying a little from the topic, I did like the Scotties leading out the teams of athletes.